US President Donald Trump said this Tuesday that he does not need to ask for help, during the “long conversation” he plans to have with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to resolve the war in Iran, claiming that the situation “is under control”.
Donald Trump has been unsuccessfully pressuring the Chinese leader to use his influence in leading Tehran to end the war which has lasted for more than two months, or, at least, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranian authorities keep under blockade, with an impact on global oil markets.
“We’re going to have a long talk about this. I think he’s behaved relatively well,” the US President told reporters shortly before leaving the White House to begin his trip to Beijing, where he has a scheduled meeting with Xi on Thursday.
Shortly afterwards, he added:
“We have a lot of things to discuss. To be honest, I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, because we have the Iran under control“.
Throughout the conflict, launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, Trump oscillated between complaints that China, the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, did not do enough to influence Tehran and recognition that Beijing helped de-escalate military action by encouraging negotiations.
In recent days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Treasury Chief Scott Bessent have intensified their calls for China to use its influence to help reopen the Strait of Hormuzwhere around 20% of the world’s crude oil passed before the start of the war.
The State Department announced Friday that it was sanctioning four entities, including three companies based in China, for providing sensitive satellite images that enable Iranian military attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Previously, the Treasury Department had taken steps to target Chinese oil refineries accused of buying oil from Tehran, as well as the companies that transported the crude.
In his statements this Tuesday, Donald Trump once again maintain that inflation in the United Statesat its highest level in almost three years, is short-term.
“As soon as this war ends, you will see inflation come down, probably by 1.5%,” said the White House leader.
Still on the conflict in Iran, the North American President reaffirmed that he does not need NATO’s help, insisting that Washington has already militarily defeated the Islamic Republic.
“NATO disappointed me deeply. NATO wasn’t there when we needed it. We don’t need NATO, but if we did, it simply wouldn’t be there”, he lamented to journalists.
